Goodyear posts $1.1-billion '02 loss

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. lost $1.1 billion last year on $13.85 billion in revenue, compared to losses of $203.6 million on $14.14 billion in revenue during 2001.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. lost $1.1 billion last year on $13.85 billion in revenue, compared to losses of $203.6 million on $14.14 billion in revenue during 2001.

Goodyear blamed the rise in losses mainly on weak business conditions in North America, as its international tire operations posted higher profits last year than in 2001.

Most of Goodyear's red ink came in the fourth quarter of last year, when the company lost $1.1 billion on $3.53 billion in revenue, compared to losses of $174 million on revenues of $3.47 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Those losses stem from $1 billion worth of charges taken to cover changes made to asset values as well as $18.6 million spent on a tire replacement program, Goodyear said.

Falling North American sales also hurt profitability, the company noted, as it sold 103.9 million tires last year compared to 112 million in 2001.